Russia’s extensive disinformation campaign to discredit Zelenskyy – report

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has instructed his propaganda machine to develop a disinformation campaign against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, The Washington Post reported on Feb. 16.

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Documents obtained by the journalists from a European intelligence service suggest that the Kremlin's directive resulted in thousands of social media posts and hundreds of fabricated articles, made and propagated by Moscow-controlled troll farms. The content aimed to exacerbate tensions between Zelenskyy and former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

The report indicates that in early 2023, the Kremlin had set four primary objectives for its campaign against Ukraine: discredit Kyiv’s military and political leadership, sow division within the Ukrainian elite, demoralize the troops, and disorient the civilian population.

These tasks were set by Sergei Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Putin’s administration, after the successful Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kharkiv and Kherson oblasts.

The criteria for the campaign’s effectiveness were outlined as gollows:

- Decreasing popularity ratings of key figures in Zelenskyy's office, government, and the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;

- Strengthening the belief among Ukrainians that the country's elite is self-serving;

- Increasing the number of resignations among officials and public scandals;

- Exaggerating Ukrainian casualties in the war.

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Kremlin’s propaganda experts advised that this disinformation campaign be conducted on social media and messaging apps, including Twitter, Facebook, and Telegram.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine